Large cap savings could force Boldin out of Baltimore

After hauling in 22 catches for 380 yards with seven touchdowns this past postseason en route to helping the Baltimore Ravens win Super Bowl 47, one would think Anquan Boldin was a new franchise hero assured of a roster spot for 2013. Well, if you were one of the many who thought that, you may be very wrong.

After being dealt from the Arizona Cardinals to the Ravens in March 2010, Boldin signed a four-year deal that’s set to expire after this upcoming season. In 2013, Boldin is set to earn a non-guaranteed $6 million base salary, with $1,531,250 left from his signing bonus proration. This equals a total 2013 cap hit of $7,531,250. Since that’s the only dead money left to count against the cap, the Ravens would achieve a net cap savings of $6 million by releasing Boldin rather than letting him play out the final year of his deal.

Baltimore is currently right in the middle of the pack in terms of available cap space, they’re an estimated $12,664,866 under the cap (16th most cap space in the NFL). Thus, releasing Boldin would certainly give them a nice chunk of space. Since joining the team in 2010, Boldin has been a solid, but not spectacular, receiver. However, after his memorable postseason, many Ravens fans would be sad to see him go. We’ll see if the parties can reach a solution to keep him in a Ravens uniform.

Featured Contract

Drew Brees signed a one year contract extension worth $24.25 million, all of which is guaranteed, on September 7, 2016 with the Saints. Brees, who had been scheduled to earn $20 million in 2016 will now earn $31.25 million, including a $30 million signing bonus per Andrew Brandt. The contract contains three voidable contract years to prorate the signing bonus. The new contract reduces Brees cap number from $30 million to $17.25 million in 2016. Brees has a no trade clause and can not be franchise tagged when his contract voids. If the contract voids and Brees is not extended the Saints will carry a dead money charge of $18 million in 2019 for Brees. The deadline for the void is the final day of the 2017 league year.